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Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart Speaks to The November 20th Re-opening
Fellow Caymanians and Residents - Greetings to you all.
On Tuesday, October 19th, on behalf of the country, I asked Hon Premier Wayne Panton to clarify the Government's plans for re-opening. I asked him to provide the country with a re-opening date and the details on managing the re-opening, particularly to confirm how the Government was preparing our health systems to handle the anticipated increase in infections as the borders opened. Finally, I asked for additional clarity on how people would be supported when having to isolate, particularly those now in isolation because of community spread, and those after the re-opening should the infections materialize.
As we all know, on Friday afternoon, the Premier and Government provided the country with a broad outline of the aims and objectives of the re-opening plan - which they have named the Cayman Islands COVID-19 Critical Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan.
The Premier also advised the date to transition to the next re-opening phase was November 20th.
I thank the Premier for listening to the Opposition and the broader public's concerns and shedding some light on how the Government thinks about re-opening.
Seeing the broad outline of the re-opening plan and learning of the proposed new date is undoubtedly welcome. We are all now finally getting a glimpse of the Government's strategy and preparedness for re-opening, albeit at a very high level.
But it is not lost on me, or the public, that the country's Critical Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan is still very much a work in progress. Yet, we are less than 30 days away from the newly announced opening date.
As the Deputy Governor said at the press briefing, the public has a right to see every component of the plan. I couldn't agree more. I also agree with the Deputy Governor that the public expects the Government to prove that we are ready to re-open.
As the Premier and Government acknowledged - there is still a lot of work to be done to adequately prepare to re-open and provide the necessary assurances to the country. The country is looking forward to full details of the plan to be made public before we get to November 20th.
Before I close, I can advise that on Thursday, October 21st, I received an email from Premier Panton inviting the Opposition to attend a presentation this week on the re-opening plan. I expect that this will allow the Opposition the opportunity to better understand the details of the plan outlined last Friday.
Again, I thank the Premier for the invitation. Our political views may differ, but I know that the love we both have for these Islands and our people is without question.
Premier Panton, the Opposition members look forward to meeting with you and your colleagues this week and hopefully working together for the benefit of our people as we move to re-opening our borders.
May God be with you, and may He continue to bless and protect our beloved Cayman Islands.
